Method and means for joining pipes



sept. 4, 1923.

o. E. oLEsoN 'METHOD AND MEANS FOR JOINING PIPEs Filed Nov. 28. 1919 Patented Sept. 4; 1923.

OLAF E. OLESON, F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF T0 CHESTER F.

SARGENT, 0F- WINNETKA, VILLINIS.

METHOD AND MEANS FOR I'OIN'INGJ PPES,

' Application mea November as, 1919. serial ne. 341,194.

Be it known that I, OLAF E.v OLnsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Methods and Means for Joining Pipes, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specificaf.

tion.

This invention relates to methods and means for joining pipes and more particularly to improvements upon the type of pipe couplin disclosed in the United States Patent o. 977,226, granted November 29,

1910,-'and No. 986,506, granted March 14,

1911, to F. Sarge-nt and O. E. Oleson.'

In the patents referred to two pipes are 2G permanently secured together end to end and are held a ainst separation by any approved form of c amp, and the joint thus formed between the abuttin end s is herinetically sealed by welding. ouplings of this character have many practical advantages. They afford a continuity of the pipes andan absolute seal of the joints, characteristic of welded joints, and at the same time insure exceedingly secure mechanical rconnections due to the use of the clamps. Furthermore the use of couplings of this character facilitates the taking down of due to the ease with which the pipes may be separated after the clamps'have been disconnected.

The primary aim of the present invention is to improve the type of couplings above outlined by a process and means which will facilitate the sealing of the joints thereof. This is accomplished by positioning a metallic gasket in or around the joint and then by the application of heat, effecting a fusion of the material of the gasket with that 'of the pipes.

Other objects and advantages will herein after appea'r.

Two applications j of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a longitudinal section through two pipe ends joined in accordance with the present inventiom and a piping system Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing a modified arrangement.

'll-he ends of' the pipes 10, shown in Figure .1, are provided with outwardly extending .inserted preferably between the flanges 11.

This gasket may be made of any desired material such as copper, steel, iron or monel or other alloy.

The clamp may be of any approved type. In the present instance it comprises a pair of clamping rings y13 having registering openings 14 for the reception of bolts 15. The rings 13 may be forme-d as integral parts of the pipes or, as shown in Figure 1, they may constitute separate elements loosely mounted upon the pipes and engageable with the exposed surfaces of the flanges 11. In either event when the nuts 16 on the bolts 15 arescrewed home, the abutting flanges are pressed firmly against the interposed gasket 12 and the pipes are rigidly and securely held against separation. Thus it will be seen that the entire ymechanical strain is taken up by the clamp.

In order to obtain a tight seal of the joint between the flanges a hot flame is preferably applied there-to and to the gasket l2 to cause a fusion between the gasket and flanges. This may be accomplished in various ways, such as, by the use of an Oxy-acetylene fiame or by an electric are. This latter method may-be carried out by attaching one terminal of a high-tension circuit to one of the pipes, as indicated at a, the edge of the abutting flanges, with the other terminal of the circuit,v as indicated at b. This will secure 'the desired fusion in an advantageous manner, since the flame can well be confined to just those'parts which it is desired to affect.

Figure 2 illustrates another embodiment of the invention especially adapted for use in joining an end of a pipe with a desired casting. In this instance the pipe 10 is provided with a Hang@ 11 for cooperation with the abutting end of a casting 17 in a manner similar to that'above described," `A

and drawing an arc fromv 'of the clamping distortion when the. bolts are tightened, the4 metallic gasket is interposed between these parts and the parts are `rinly pressed together by means of a clamp similar to that just described., In this instance however one of the clamp rings 18 istormed as an integral part of the casting while the cooperating ring i3 is loosely mounted on the pipe l0. Bolts 15 pass through the rings 18 and i3 so that when the bolts are tifrhtened, the flange li and the abutting end of the casting l? are irmly pressed against the gasket and the parts are rigidly and securely held in assembled relation. :dame is then applied to the joint in the manner previously described and the joint is hermetically sealed. .it is contemplated that this storm of the inventionmay be employed where one of the members is an elbow, cou.- pling, or other similar device.

The joints above described may be easily separated by rst disconnecting the mechanical clamp and then placing a coldl chisel adjacent the joint and giving the chisel a sharp blow.

As clearly shown in the drawings, the

clamping members are a iairly snug tit in the iianges join the cylindrical portion of the pipes, or at least they entend into these corners far enough so that an annular contact rin of appreciable area removed from the wel in -zone is obtained. ln forming the joints, t 'e bolts are first tightened and the weldin sequently. Before wel ing, the compression stress in the gaskets, resulting trom tightening the bolts will be distributed substantially uniformly, or, in case the rigidity ring permits appreciable the corners where outer edge of the gasket will carr a heavier load than the inner edge. The welding process raises the temperature of substantially the outer third of the gasket high enough so that the yield point is passed and a read `ust. ment of the internal stresses take p ace. This shifts the compreion load imposed by the tension in the bolts toward the inner edge of the gasket, which is desirable for two reasons; rst, it locates the forces that will resist mechanical strain imposed in service nearer in line with the shell of the pipe; and second, it concentrates the sealing action near the inner edge of the gasket.v A gasket of such area that the bolts employed could not ordinarily load it sufficiently to eliminate surface irregularities and produce a tight seal may thus be employed, and after welding is completed, the inner portions of the gasket will be jammed tight enough to secure the desired seal.' After the welded parts have cooled, thermal contraction of the flanges and the gaskets near their outer edges will roduce a slight additional shift of the mec anical stresses. In spite of the exposure of the outer edg tothe air, they is performed subv agences will be the last parts of the weld to cool be-V cause the weld is formed quickly and cooling begins when the large mass of metal back of the weld is still cold, and the conductivity of the metal will carry away the heat even faster than the air. rlhe {ina-l cooling of the outer edges may, therefore, put the outer edge under slight tension, thus adding to the total of the forces holding the joints together. ln addition to the readjustment resulting from temperature changes at various radial distances' from the center during welding, there is a progressive contract` ing action which follows the welding process circumterentially around the joints. This is believed to be due to the tact that at the point of welding the materials are under no mechanical stress, but as soon as they cool to a temperature where 'the tensile strength is material, the contraction due to subsequent coolingtends to produce a positive movement of the parts toward each other.

Various changes may be made in the embodiments of the invention hereinabove specifically described without departing from or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention as defined in the following claims.

l claim: j

l. The process of coupling pipes which consists in flanging the abuttin ends thereof, then permanently mechanica said ends together with a asket therebetween, and then-welding sai ends and said gasket together at the outer edges only to seal the joint.

2. The process of coupling pipes which consists in ianging the abutting ends thereof, then permanently mechanically connecting said ends together with a metallic gasket therebetween, and then concentrating heat upon the edges only ot said ends and said gasket, to weld said edges together to seal the joint.

3. The 'process of coupling pipes which consists in permanently mechanically connecting the abutting ends of the pipes together with a metallic gasket therebetween, and then welding the outer edges only of said ends and said gasket together to form a hermetic seal.

4f. The method of joining pipes whichv consists in Hanging adjacent ends of the pipes to provide substantiall flat radial bearing surfaces, thenmechanlcally clam ing said ends together with a dat metallic gasket between them to form a gasket seal joint, then concentrating heat upon the outer edges only of the gasket and the adjacent edges only of the pipe anges to fuse the metal of the edges of the gasket and of the anges to form a hermetic seal at said outer edges only. Y

5. ln a device of the characterI described the combination' of a pair of pipes arranged ly clamping end to end, a metallic gasket interposed between and forming a mechanical. union between said ends to seal the joint, andmeans for permanently mechanically clamping said 5 parts together to prevent separationl of said joint, the edges only of said gasket be- .ng fused to the adjacent edges of the pipes.

6. A pipe joint having a gasket, the inner portions of thegasket being under mechanical compression, land the outer edge being 10 fused to the adjacent pipe portions.

In witness whereof Iv hereunto subscribeI my name this 26 day of November, 1919.

OLAF E. OLESON. 

